Microscopic Appearance Transformation of Bornite During Acid Leaching and Bioleaching

The microscopic appearance transformation of bornite during leaching and bioleaching was investigated in this article. Leaching experiments, X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscope (SEM), and energy dispersive spectrometer (EDS) were conducted to investigate the microscopic appearance of bornite in the presence of Leptospirillum ferriphilum (L. ferriphilum) and sterile condition. The leaching and bioleaching experimental results showed that the recovery of acid leaching was 29.117% while the recovery of bioleaching was 51.328%, which means that the presence of L. ferriphilum significantly improved recovery of copper. The SEM imaging revealed that the bioleaching sample surface is rougher than sterile leaching sample due to surface roughness of the bornite increased with oxidation potential.